Agencies left in limbo by budget stalemate

Thursday

SPRINGFIELD -- While state leaders dig in their heels over a spending plan for next year, community agencies across Illinois are cooling theirs, waiting for numbers to plug into their own budgets.

By DANA HEUPEL

STATE CAPITOL BUREAU

SPRINGFIELD -- While state leaders dig in their heels over a spending plan for next year, community agencies across Illinois are cooling theirs, waiting for numbers to plug into their own budgets.

Like state government, many agency budgets run from July through June. And because state funds make up the lion’s share of revenue for many of them, their plans go on hold when the state is late.

“We don’t know what we can do. We can’t purchase anything without knowing what our budget looks like,” said Wendy Bailie, director of Substance Abuse Services for Franklin-Williamson Human Services Inc. in Marion.

The agency, which provides help in mental health, substance abuse, developmental disabilities and youth and family services in Franklin and Williamson counties, can’t plan for staff raises, mandated technology improvements, or even “bare necessities” such as paper for folders and client records, she said.

“It’s a stab in the dark as to what we’re going to be dealing with next year,” Bailie said, with increasing costs for gasoline, utility bills, insurance and a hike in the minimum wage.

And if state government delays payments, the agency, which is headquartered in Frankfort, eventually could have to borrow to meet payroll, she said.

“We’re really on hold,” said Brenda Yarnell, executive director of United Cerebral Palsy, Land of Lincoln, which serves 27 counties in central Illinois and is based in Springfield.

UCP, Land of Lincoln, has approved a temporary budget to keep it on track until August, but with 86 percent of its revenue coming from state contracts, “it is all very troublesome,” Yarnell said.

“Our cost of doing business has skyrocketed in the past year,” she said, and she worries about paying high enough wages to keep her staff.

“Most of our budget goes for salaries and benefits,” she said, “and without being able to retain those quality staff, then it certainly affects the quality of our program.”

“We’re not talking about grandiose ideas that are on the board, we’re talking about the nuts and bolts of everyday operation,” Yarnell said, adding that if state payments are late, the agency would have to use its line of credit, which would mean unbudgeted interest costs.

“That would be an interest-free loan to the state,” she said.

“We’ve crafted a budget,” said Roy Ricketts, president and CEO of the Peoria Association for Retarded Citizens, “but there’s nothing new in it in terms of funding for staff.”

“Our decision is made for us,” he said, referring to the fact that the state hasn’t provided money for pay increases for the last two years and is unlikely to in the next budget.

As with other agencies, PARC’s costs have risen, and it has assumed more duties with the closing of four group homes in the area. Holding down expenses has helped, but “there’s no way that those measures are going to be enough. It’s particularly demoralizing, really,” Ricketts said.

Another major concern is the increase in the state’s minimum wage, from $6.50 to $7.50 on July 1.

“There’s no additional funding even providing a relief from that,” he said.

Having watched the vagaries of Illinois government at the agency for 28 years, Stephen Langley, CEO of Stepping Stones of Rockford, makes sure his agency is prepared for the worst.

“Typically, when we have the kind of politics we have this year, we go into a different mode right about the first of June or so. … We hold everything we don’t absolutely have to pay in order to make sure we have payroll,” he said.

That tactic also can result in late fees and a reduced credit rating, he said, “but most of the people we do business with understand. But they aren’t happy.”

Stepping Stones, which provides specialized mental health services such as housing and rehabilitation, also puts off buying equipment and other goods.

“We know we cannot plan purchases for this time of year,” Langley said. “What we’re going to do for the summer, we’ve generally purchased in March, April, the first of May. … In August, we might pick up some items we need for the fall and winter.

“It’s not really too debilitating for us ordinarily,” he said. “Now, if they extend all the way into July deeply, and we don’t get paid, then it will be a problem.”

Dana Heupel can be reached at (217) 788-1518 or dana.heupel@sj-r.com.

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